Microsoft Surface Pro Coming Feb. 9

The official release date for the Microsoft Surface Pro has just been announced: this Windows 8 tablet is going to hit store shelves Feb. 9. This is slightly later than Microsoft had first hoped -- the company had originally planned to have this slate out in January.

It is going to be sold in Microsoft's own retail stores and website, as well as a range of electronics stores.

More About Microsoft Surface Pro

The price and other details of this product were announced months ago. There are going to be two options for Surface Pro buyers: the one with 64GB of storage will cost $900, while a version with 128GB of storage will be $1000. Both will have an Intel Core i5 processor.

The tablet will have a 10.6-inch screen, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The Surface Pro will include a full-size USB 3.0 port, plus a Mini DisplayPort that can drive an external display up to 2560 x 1440 pixels.

Because it will run Windows 8 Pro, the upcoming version of this tablet will be able to run software written for Windows 7 and earlier. The Surface RT cannot.

The device will come with a stylus dubbed "the Surface pen", which will have Palm Block technology. They will not, however, be bundled with a Touch Cover or Type Cover. These will be sold separately, at $120 and $130, respectively.

The version of the Surface that was released in the fall runs Window RT, and therefore has a different type of processor and no backward compatibility with previous software. It also has a lower-resolution screen. On the other hand, it also has a lower price and longer battery life.